Too cheap to matter: over abundant microchips, and what we can learn from them

Research highlights the pervasive integration of ultra-cheap microchips into everyday products, classifying them as a 'smart material' due to their abundance and disposability. These chips, often older technological nodes, account for the vast majority of microchip sales annually, yet their ubiquity renders them invisible despite their critical role in 'smart' functionalities. This phenomenon raises questions about their environmental impact, the rationale behind their widespread deployment, and the implications of their inherent obsolescence, particularly when compared to the focus on advanced ICs for data centers and AI.

• Over 400 billion microchips are sold annually, with the vast majority being ultra-cheap (under $1).
• These inexpensive microchips are so abundant that they are considered a 'smart material', integrated and disposable in various everyday items.
• Older technology nodes (dating back to the 1980s) continue to be produced and widely utilized in these low-cost applications.
• The integration of these chips into products, often to add 'smartness' regardless of necessity, contributes to their increased obsolescence.
• While advanced Integrated Circuits (ICs) for data centers and AI receive significant attention, the widespread and invisible impact of these disposable microchips is largely overlooked.

Reported by arXiv — Computers and Society · International. This briefing summarises the publication for executive use; the document itself is not reproduced here.